Gravity actuated spinneret punching machine



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GRAVITY ACTUATED SPINNERET PUNCHING MACHINE Filed July 5. 1951 Gttorneg R. A. THUMANN ETAM.

GRAVITY ACTUATED SPINNERET PUNCHING MACHINE Filed July 5. 1951 9 shets-shee-n 7 mor R. A. THOMANN ET AL GRAVITY ACTUATED SPINNERET PUNCHING MACHINE 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed July 5. 1951 Gtorneg m m, E955 R. A. THOMANN ET Al.

GRAVITY ACTUATED SPINNERET PUNCHING MACHINE Filed July 5. 1951 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 (lttorneg GRAVITY ACTUATED SPINNERT PUNCHING MACHNE Raymond A. rlfhoniznnn and Jean Marie G. Vincent, Besancon, France, assignors, by mesne assignments, to 'iextiie and Chemical Research Company Limited, St. Peter, Port of Guernsey, Channel Islands, a corporation of Great Britain Application .luiy S, 1951, Serial No. 235,164 Claims priority, application France February 21, 1951 16 Claims. (Cl. 164-87) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for perforating spinnerets and more particularly to a fully automatic machine for the above purpose.

The spinnerets employed in the manufacture of artiiicial textiles from alkaline solutions by means of acid baths are generally of precious metals, in particular platinum, alone or alloyed with other metals. These spinnerets consist of nozzles formed by numerous very line holes of a diameter of the order of .O mm. to 0.10 mm., generally arranged in several concentric circles on the flat face of the spinneret, either with uniform distribution of holes or in special patterns with intermediate unperforated areas.

fin the great majority of cases, the perforation of the spinnerets is effected hy punching. The cap to be perforated is placed upside down on a pad of softer material, e. g. aluminum, and a hard punch of suitable form and dimension is pressed axially into the material at the required point for perforation. The metal is forced outward by the entry of the punch, forming a burr. After the punching is completed, the burr is removed by polishing the outside with abrasive for opening of the holes, after which various iinishing operations are applied.

The punching has hitherto been performed manually by means of a lever operated at its free end by a skilled workman. The cap is placed in a rotatable mounting. The spacing is determined by the motion of a divider plate representirn7 the perforation pattern on a much enlarged scale, and by means of a positioning pin associated with the cap mounting.

Notwithstanding the manual skill of the operator, the force applied to the punch varies appreciably from one operation to the next thereby producing non-uniform punchings.

An object of the present invention is to provide. an automatic perforating device, chiefly characterized in that the punching force is applied mechanically and is of constant magnitude. This result is obtained by means of a controllable force, bearing on the sliding carriage of the punch. The up-and-down movement of the slide carrying the punch is effected by an electrical motor and the amplitude of travel of the punch is adjustable.

Pursuant to a further object of the invention, one may obtain either uniformly spaced perforations, on the same principle as in the manual process, or patterned perforations by means of a special template adapted to accelerate the motion of the spinneret mounting over the areas not to be perforated.

Other features of the invention, relating in particular to the control of the various operations and the means of ensuring reliable functioning of the device, will hereinafter be described in detail in terms of one embodiment, which is to be understood in no restrictive sense, the invention likewise extending to any variant of the same idea.

It should be noted that in addition to an improvement of the quality of punching, the device also provides the t possibility to punch at least twice as rapidly. Furthermore, the device will operate practically without attention, owing to the number of safety devices ensuring automatic stoppage in the event of faulty operation. It is possible to obtain a still greater output by allowing the machine to run during periods of normal interruption of work, thus gaining at least two hours of opera tion per day and increasing the output again by more than 25%. Production is also increased because a manual operator is frequently obliged to pause briefly in the course of this extremely tedious work, and these interruptions naturally reduce output, whereas the automatic machine keeps on operating at a uniform rate until the job is done or until some accidental stoppage takes place. The automatic punching machine allows the use of non-special ized labor. At the same time, the quality and especially the regularity of punching is considerably increased, the deformation of the metal of the spinneret is smaller than in the case of manual punching, and the polishing can be simplified, with smaller losses of precious metal and more regular thickness of the resulting spinnerets.

The drawings accompanying the present description will serve for a better understanding of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the punching machine with certain parts shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail perspective view of a modified form of driving mechanism for punching concentric circles of holes;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical cord section enlarged of a modified form of punching machine, which shows the speed-up mechanism for driving the holder past the unperforated zones;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of a completed spinneret showing the holes eccentrically punched with non-perforated sections;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary View similar to Fig. 6 showing the holes concentrically punched;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary View similar to Fig. 7 but showing a pattern having concentric unpunched areas;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged section of a punch in action;

Fig. 10 is a vertical section of a modified form of the device;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary plan View of the template and associated mechanism shown in Fig. l0;

Fig. l2 is. a vertical section of still another form of the apparatus;

Fig. 13 is a horizontal section taken substantially on line 13-13 of Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is an enlarged detail View of a counter and safety device taken on the line it-14 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 15 is a detail section of the overrunning clutch for controlling the up-and-down movement of the punch holder, taken on the line 15--15 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary detail section similar to Fig. 5, illustrating the operation of certain parts 0f the turret type machine shown in Figs. 5 and 12; and

Fig. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating the electrical control circuits,

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3, which as aforesaid represent the assembly, a cap 1 to be perforated, e. g. of pure platinum, rests by means of a holding nut 1a on an anvil 1b. A punch 2 set in a holder 2a, exactly perpendicular to the horizontal surface is mounted on a lower slide 3 connected by a universal joint 4 to the upper drive slide 5, with automatic compensation of wear by transverse Contact rods pushed against the slide 3 by springs (not shown). fr a a above, ending in a socket 3 to receive a follower 9, whose shai is attached at 11 to a lever 12 with pivot 13. The lever, beyond thc point of attachment 11, has a threaded section bearing a countcrweight nut 15 to regulate the pressure exerted by the lever 12. A supplementary line adjustment is obtained by means of a knurled screw lo at the free end of the lever 12, having a hner thread. However, in certain instances, pressure may be applied to the point of attachment 11 simply by means of weights.

A drive gear i9 is driven by an electric motor 18, preferably with variable speed. The gear 19 in turn drives a reduction gear comprising three successive gears 20, Z1 and 22. The last mentioned gear 22 is mounted on shaft 23, the other end of the shaft carries an eccentric 2d acting on a roller Z5 on a pin 26 mounted in thc forked end of a bent arm 27. The bent arm therefore oscillates and drives a gear 29 through an over running clutch 29 (see detail of clutch in Fig. l5) so as to drive the gear intermittently, counterclockwise (as viewed in Fig. l) which in turn drives the rack 6 upwardly, together with the upper slide S, weighted lever 12 and associated connections, to a position shown in Figs. l and 2. Upon the clockwise rotation of the bent arm, the clutch releases the gear 29 permitting it to rotate clockwise and allows the downward travel simultaneously of the slide 5' and punch carrying slide 3 due to the weighted lever 12. The above operation represents a single hole punched with the punch 2 in the position shown in the enlarged detail of Fig. 9. The countercloclcwise rotation of the bent arm 27 now locks the bent arm to the shaft 28 to which is secured thc gear 29 causing it again to lift punch 2, slides 3 and 5 and associated parts to the position shown in Figs. l and 2. The machine is now set for the punching of the next hole. The cam 24 thus causes the upward stroke of the punch and the weight of the lever causes the downward stroke, iirst in cooperation with the cam and afterwards freely.

The anvil 1b is fastened to a feeler plate 30 centered on a disc 31 provided with very tine teeth on its circumference (600 to 1200 teeth) and associated with another toothed disc 32. Provision is made for operating these discs intermittently and these parts will now be described.

The shaft 23, driven by the gear 22, described above, has secured to it another eccentric 33 acting on a fork 31tpivoting at 3:3, and having a slot 35a at its lower end. ln this slot is inserted a small pin 35h, attached to a square bar 36 sliding inr a sleeve 37 sliding itself in a support. The sleeve 3'/ carries at its end a support 36o for a paw] 58 clicking into the teeth of the disc 31. For the adjustment of the intermittent angular advance of the disc 31 on every impulse of the pawl 38 the following device is used. The square bar 36, receiving from the lever 34 a linearly reciprocating movement of constant amplitude, acts on the sleeve 37 through a spring 39. The support 331.1 of the pawl 3S has a lateral finger 3811, with a shoulder' 33e which butts against the micrometer screw itl at every forward movement of the bar 36. The screw lil thus puts a limit to the forward movement of the pawl support with a certain compression of the spring 39. When the bar 36 moves backward the spring 39 is dccompressed and the whole device returns to its initial position with the aid of a spring 40a, enveloping the micrometer screw all which pushes back the nger 3812 of the support 33a of the pawl 33. in this way, the disc 3l receives an intermittent rotary advance counterclockwise as shown in the plan view of Fig. 3, the amount of'advance depending upon the setting of the screw 4G. As the two cams Zd and 33 are in opposition when the rst one 24 lifts the sliding punch-holder, the second one 33 causes at the same time a rotary advance of the disc 31 which however remains immobile during the downward movement of the punch. As this advance is absos lutely necessary to determine the angular spacing oi the holes made by the punch 2, it may be desirable to have a plurality of pawls 33 linked in a suitable manner. In order to guarantee absolute constancy of the advance the pawls may be arranged at equal angular intervals around the disc 31, thus minimizing the risk of an error of one tooth of advance.

The disc 31, holder la and associated gear train is mounted on a long plate or arm 41 (Fig. 3) which may take the form of a flat beam. This is pivoted at (l2, which effects a lateral displacement of the axis 16a of the anvil 1b from the axis of the punch 2 (Figs. 2, 3 and 12). In perforating, holes can be punched in larger and larger concentric circles, or along an increasing spiral, but in both cases it is necessary to control the distance between the center of the spinneret on the anvil and the axis of the punch. This control is the function of the pivoting plate 41. A mechanism for this pivoting will be described for the case of perforation on concentric circles, as can be seen in Fig. 4.

The xed support of the machine carries a segmental rack 43 having its axis on the bolt d2. pivot of the beam all. A pinion 44 (see Fig. 4) meshes with the rack 43 and is associated to a coaxial holding pinion engaging the spring pawl liti and provided with a brake pawl 47. The spring pawl 46 is attached at its other end to an instable block 48 fastened to a bar i9 sliding in bearings 5t), 50', but continually pushed to the right by a helical spring 51 between the bearing 5@ and a stop 52? fastened to the bar 49. In addition, the suitable flattened 53 of the bar 49 co-acts with the cani Srl.

The disc 31 under the anvil is provided with a gear 6d engaging a similar gear 55 fastened to a coaxial bevel gear 56 engaging another bevel gear S7 mounted on a horizontal shaft 58. This shaft 53 carries the cam track 54, shown in Fig. 4, and in each revolution it shifts the bar 49 so as to impart a definite angular displacement to pinion 44, ratchet 44', the pinion 4d engaging the rack 43. The rotation of pinion 44 causes the pivoting of the beam 41 and the center of the spinneret is suddenly shifted for a certain distance in respect to the axis of the punch when a complete circle of holes has been punched.

When spiral perforation is desired the shaft 58 may be tted with a suitable worm gear 59 in direct engagement with worm gear 45 on the same axis as the pinion liti. To every circular displacement of the anvil between two punchings there corresponds a certain amount of angular shifting. This method of arrangement of the holes is specially demonstrated in the Figs. 2, 3 and 7.

In the spinning of staple liber by means of spinnerets having several thousands of holes, it is the usual practice to distribute the holes over certain sectors separated by unperforated sectors, and possibly also by unperforated circular zones.

ln Fig. 6 the spinneret has live perforated sectors, a, 1'), c, d, ande, separated by five unperforated sectors, f, g, h, i, and j, with a spiral arrangement of holes produced by the device of Figs. l, 2, 3, etc.

In 1Figs. 7 and 8 the arrangement of the holes in the sectors is similar, but the holes are concentrically disposed in the perforated sectors a, b, c, d, and e. The pnrposc of these unperforated Zones is to facilitate the penetra tion of the coagulating bath into the large bundle of strands leaving the spinneret from the groups of holes a, b, c, d, e, the bath entering the portions corresponding to the unperforated zones f, g, lz, i, and j, thus ensuring a more uniform coagulation. A further modification of the holes is shown in Fig. 8 in which two annular zones A and B are also non-perforated to provide for still better v penetration of the coagulating bath in spinning.

Such unperforated annular zones are readily obtained by means of an adaptation of a feeler plate 3l). This is accomplished by providing a more rapid displacement after a certain number of normal advances. it is proposed to use a disc 30 provided with several appropriate 5 depressions, for instance tive such zones, as illustrated in Figs. 6, 7 and 8.

To obtain angular spacing in the perforation a periodic interruption is introduced in each perforated circle. In Fig. 3 feeler plate 30 is provided with tive depressions 60. A vertical feeler 61, sliding in guides at a suitable distance from the axis of the spinneret mounting, is attached at 61a to the lever 12. Thus the feeler 61 has an rlp-and-down movement of reduced amplitude in respect to the punch, at least when the tip 62 of this feeler is not prevented from completing its downward travel by contact with the feeler plate 30. The tip 62 of the feeler 61 may be hardened steel. As long as the tip 62 may descend freely into a depression of the feeler plate 30, the punchingr may take place normally, but when the full descent is prevented by contact with the lands between the depressions, no punching can take place. However, the rotation of the spinneret mounting continues and after a certain time the feeler arrives at the next depression and the punching operation starts again. Thus each cir- L cular range of holes is interrupted by unpunched arcs corresponding to the lands between the depressions in the feeler plate 3i), i. e. tive unpunched arcs in the present case. As no punching takes place during the passages of the lands, it is advantageous to accelerate the rotation f of the spinneret mounting during said passages. To that elect the feeler 61 carries a collar 61h, tending to close a double contact 61C in the main circuit if the feeler remains lifted, whereas wth normal up and down movement 61C remains practically open. ing of contacts 61C causes closing of a circuit 61d to the motor having on its shaft a gear 66a. The motor 641 drives the gear 66a through a one way clutch of the type shown in Fig. l5.

To permit continual monitoring of the process of pera;

foration, and in particular of the behavior and proper penetration of the punch, as well as of the proper and rapid control of the required blind areas, a microscope, which may be binocular, is employed in a known manner. The optical axis of this microscope is shown at 67 (Fig. l). It is illuminated by the beam of light 68, coming from a source of light 69 and collected by a reflector 70. The eyepiece of the microscope is indicated at 71. By means of prisms 72, a portion of the beam is directed upon a photoelectric cell 73 connected by wires 74 to an electronic amplifier (not shown) having means for automatically stopping the machine if a punch breaks or if there is a sudden change in the brightness of the beam in the microscope 67. For this purpose, the electronicamplifier (not shown) may be connected to a circuit 89 with an electromagnetic stop 90 which stops the descent of the upper slide 5 when the amplifier shows an abnormal condition of the punch2.

vWith a View to satisfactory operation, Vit is essential that the machine stop when the necessary number of 4holes has been made. To obtain'this result, recourse is had to a very simple supplementary device.

The upper driving slide S'carries at its upper end a lateral blade 7S, cantilever fashion, having at its free end a threaded hole 75a for insertion of a small screw '76. When the slide 5 descends, with each stroke of the punch 2, the screw strikes a contact 77 and closes a circuit 78 comprising a source of current 79 and a solenoid 80, with soft iron plunger 81. With each stroke of the punch, the plunger 81 is drawn into the solenoid 80 against the action of a return spring not shown. 4The plunger 81` is attached by a link 52 to the trigger of a counter 8d. When the required number of strokes of the punch has occurred, andl the required numeral appears on the counter, there isan interruption of the current in` the circuit of the motor 18 driving the drive pinion 19.f

Referring to Fig. 14 which is a schematic diagram of the safety device, 85 is one of the notched rings of the counter 84, and 86 is another notched ring, `Suppose the perforation is to be stopped after S400-holes, i. e.

However, the closwhen the figure 8 is in the thousands place and the figure 4 in the hundreds place register for the first time. In that case, the notched ring S5 Will be used on the thousands disc, and an identical notched ring 86 on the hundreds disc. The follower 87 on a spring blade 87a standing in the circuit of the main motor, rests on both rings and when 87 is able to enter into the two registering gaps of the notched rings SS and 86, it will cause the blade 87a to be disconnected from a contact 87k in the circuit 8d, which stops motor 18. However, if this opened circuit fails to stop the machine an additional circuit is closed by the spring blade 87a closing a circuit through S7c energizing a solenoid 87d which will arrest the downward movement of slide 5 (see Fig. 10).

If for any reasons the counter 341 fails to function properly, a safety device stops the main motor. A second count 91 (see Fig. 3) is provided to counter the number of turns of the feeler plate 35i. When the correct number of turns is reached, and the counter 91 has rnade one complete turn, a circuit is closed, by means of a safety contact 92, in the circuit 93, which contains another relay (not shown) to disconnect the rnain motor 18.

Various detailed refinements of the apparatus are also possible.

Thus one may so modify the shape of eccentric 2dthat the descent of punch 2 is decelerated when this punch strikes the metal to be perforated, as well as at the end of the travel, to reduce the shock suffered by the punch at these points in its downward course. Through the shape of the cam, the motion of the punch may be accelerated during those portions of the travel, both downward and upward, where the punch is not yet or no longer in contact with the metal to be perforated. The bottom of the spinneret lies on a sheet of aluminum, a metal softer than the platinum. When the point of the punch strikes the surface of the spinneret at the downward stroke, a shock takes place and in some cases this shock may cause the punch to break. By slowing down the movement just before the contact this risk is decreased. Thus the eiiicient part of each punching cycle may be increased by speeding up the non-productive part.

The depth'of penetration of the punch into the metal may be controlled, e. g. by means of a special mounting of the anvil in a micrometer screw assembly. The penetration of the punch may be measured by a device cornprising a feeler, adjustable by micrometer screw and attached to slide 3. This feeler bears on a comparator with needle indicating the depth of penetration of the punch which depth may vary owing to variations of thickness of the metal of the cap to be punched. Abnormal variations of thickness may be signaled by optical, sound, electrical or othersuitable means.

The mechanical lifting of the feeler 61 may be omitted by the use of an electrical device comprising a relay to stop the slide 5, and therefore also the slide 3, as shown by Fig. 17. The electrical device prevents the excessive wearing of disc 31 by the friction exerted by the feeler 61 and increases the precise working of the feeler.

In Fig. l7 a relay 14S actuates an armature 146 positioned to stop the slide 5 when the relay is energized. The relay includes a coil 147 connected by a lead 148 to one side of the secondary 11W of a transformer 15.0 having a primary 151 connected to a suitable A. C. power source. The other side of the secondary 149 is connected by a lead 152 to the disc 31 which is also grounded. The other side of the winding 147 is connected by a lead 153 to a contact 154 which engages the feeler plate 30, also grounded.

A second relay coil 158, also actuating the armature 146 is connected by a lead 159 to thev secondary 149, and by a lead 160 to la contact 161 positioned to contact the underside of the feeler plate 30.

The armature 146 also closes a contact 162 in the power circuit of the motor 6d. v

When contacts 154 and 161 register with a window or .depression in the feeler plate 30 the punch operates in the usual manner. However, when these contacts engage the plate 30 the armature 14e is actuated to stop the operation of the punch slide and by closing contact 162, to energize the motor 64 which drives the spinneret mounting at a rapid rate until the next depression in the plate is reached.

When a more complete pattern of perforation is desired the design of the feeler plate 30 may become so complicated that its construction is difficult. ln such cases recourse may be had to the use of a template device synchronized with the support of the anvil, the template representing a much enlarged image of the pattern of the holes and having an insulation layer on all parts corresponding to perforated areas. A feeler cxplores systematically the template and is electrically connected to the punch in such a way as to prevent its descent only when the feeler explores the non-insulated parts of the template. This modification of the apparatus is represented in greater detail in Figs. l() and ll.

in Fig. 10 the left part is almost identical with Fig. 2 for helical punching, but the rotation of the anvil is directly geared to the template.

The template 94 is placed on a plate 95 and is fixed by a winged nut 96 on the shaft 97 rotating iu the plate 95. The shaft 97 is journaled in the bed of the machine. The center of the turntable mechanism, the anvil 1b, and the pivot 42 are initially aligned.

The toothed disc 31 carries a central shaft 98, on which is centered a bevel gear 99, meshing with another bevel gear 100 on the shaft 101, connected by a universal 102 to a shaft 103 which by universal 104 is connected to shaft 105. On this shaft 105 is seated a bevel gear 106 meshing with a bevel gear 107 on shaft 97.

1n this way the anvil 1b can be completely synchronized with the template 94.

The template 94 has insulated sectors, of which three, i. e. 94a, 94h and 94C can be seen, and non-insulated cutout sectors, of which two, i. e. 94d and 94e can be seen in Fig. 1l. A helical groove is traced on the template and in this groove rides a feeler needle 10S, in an insulated mounting 109, but electrically connected to a pole 110 in a special circuit. The template is insulated itself against its mountings. A second pole is connected to a noninsulated part or" the template or is grounded and whenever the needle contacts an uninsulated portion of the disc, connection is made in a circuit comprising the acceleration motor 64 (not shown).

The plate 41 is linked to the plate 95 of the template 94 for limited relative movement, which is made possible by the two universals 102 and 104. On the shaft 97 of the template 94 a gear 142 is fixed and this gear 142 operates a gear reduction 143. The last gear 144 meshes with a curved rack 145, rigidly fixed, the same as the central pivot 42 of the plate 95.

When the plate 41 is progressively shifted away from the center in respect to the punch 2, the plate 95 is shifted also, riding on the rack 145, but the cup and the ternplate rotate in synchronism.

Figs. 5, 12 and 13 represent another modification with a turret carrying a circular group of anvils. When one spinneret is completely punched and the main motor 13 thrown out by the counting device 84, the anvil carrying the spinneret is removed and another anvil, carrying an unpunched cap is placed under the punch, and then the punching starts again. In this way the device permits a semi-continuous operation, the only task of the operator consisting in surveying and in the removal of the punched spinnerets from their respective holders, for substitution by unpunched cups or spinnerets.

In Figs. 5, l2 and 16 the auxiliary motor 112 carries on its shaft a disc 113 attached by a link 114 to an arm 115 which carries a pawl 116, pushed by a spring 117 against one of the teeth of a ratchet wheel 118, fixed 8 on the shaft 11'9. Said shaft has a square-sectioned part iitting into the tubular shaft 121 of the turret 122 carrying a circular group of anvils. In Fig. 13 one anvil is under the punching device, anvil 123 carries an already perforated cup, and anvil 124 is provided with an unperforated cup.

In this modified semi-continuous device the punch must have a far longer stroke, so that after the last stroke finishing the spinneret the punch is sufficiently lifted to allow the rotation of the turret without the point of the punch touching the rim of the spinneret. This is clearly shown in Fig. 12.

The punching system, length of stroke excepted, is identical with that above described. However, the shifting device of the cup, although in principle the same as theorie above, is provided with means moving it backward during the rotation of the turret. These means are more specifically illustrated in Figs. 5 and 16.

The recessed feeler plate is provided with an axially extending tube 123e seated firmly in a collar 124r1 of the plate 41. This tube 123e' has a square bore into which extends a square bar 125, side-bevelled at the top substantially as shown in Fig. 5. During the punching the plate with the complete system mounted on its axis is shifted, either progressively, or intermittently, in the direction of thearrows E in respect to the turret 122. To shift the anvil 1b, the base is slidable in a mounting on the turret 122. This is illustrated in Fig. 13. The cup 1 and its mounting 1b is slidable in the two slides 126, 12'7, by means of two side rims 128, 129. During its displacement the mounting 1b compresses a spring 130. The sliding movement is given by the top of the bar 125 pushing against a cam tooth 131 of the slide. At the end of the punching the anvil mounting 1b is in the position of Fig. 16. Then the turret 122 starts to rotate in the direction of the arrow E. The bar 125 is pushed down by a second tooth 132 of the mounting 1b, and compresses the spring 125a, and snaps in behind cam tooth 132, but a ramp 133 has been provided in the turret 122 and the top of the bar is able to slide under the turret until the turret has turned 60, to snap in between the teeth provided on the next anvil.

During the punching the turret 122 is held in the usual way by a lock 134 snapping into a cut-out 136 and held there by a spring 137g.

During the rotation of the turret the plate 41 is returned to its initial position by counter rotating the gear 44 that engages the rack 43, while at the same time the pawl 38 is temporarily disengaged by means of an upstanding pin 41a thus permitting the disc 31 and anvil 1b mounted thereon to rotate freely in the opposite direction.

The resetting of the plate 41 is effected by means of the reset sector 137 the special form of which appears clearly in Fig. 13. This reset gear sector comprises six curved gearing racks on the edge and separated by cut-in parts. It is mounted on the sleeve 121 of the turret 122, and is secured to the turret 122 by screws. Normally the reset sector is out of gear, but as soon as the turret 122 starts to rotate one of the gearing racks meshes with the gear 139, acting through the gear reduction box 140, through a driving connection 141 on the worm 59. The reduction should correspond accurately to the backward movement of the plate 41.

The motor 112 is throwniin when the counter 84 completes its cycle of 8400 advances, at the same time as the main motor is switched off, by a double switch. A well known chronometer device (not shown) resets the counter 84 to 0. Instead of the present device comprising a turret plate 1t is also possible to use a system similar to the automatic exchange of discs on gramophones and comprising a hydraulic lifting system for the anvil.

What is -claimed is:

l. A machine for punching spinneret cap blanks, comprising a holder having clamping means to receive and grip a spinner'et cap blank, a rotatable support carrying said holder, feed means to intermittently rotate said support, a. punch mounted above said holder for vertical reciprocation to strike said blank in a downward punching stroke, a weight connected to said punch to be raise l and lowered therewith, operating means to raise said punch and weight, said operating means having means re leasing said punch to fall by gravity due to said weight in a single, non-perforating, punching stroke adapted to penetrate said blank to a predetermined depth, drive means connected to actuate both said operating means and said feed means to rotate said holder a predetermined amount at each elevation of said punch and weight, so that successive punchings are accurately spaced around said blank, the said weight during punching strol'c producing consecutively uniform depressions in the blank.

2. A machine as set forth in claim 1 in which said drive means comprises a rotating shaft carrying a pair of cams and cam followers are connected respectively to be actuated by said cams to actuate said operating means and said feed means.

3. A machine for punching spinneret cap blanks, comprising a holder having clamping means to receive and grip a spii'ineret cap blank, a .rotatable support carrying said holder, feed means to intermittently rotate said suib port, a punch mounted above said holder for vertical rcciprocation to strike said blank in a downward punching stroke, a weight connected to said punch to be raised and lowered therewith, drive means to raise said punch and weight, said drive means having means releasing sai punch to fall by gravity due to said weight in a single non-performing, punching stroke adapted to penetrate said blank to a predetermined uniform depth, said drive means comprising a rotating shaft carrying a cam, a rack and pinion is connected to raise said punch, a swinging arm is connected to actuate said pinion for alternately raising and releasing said punch as said arm is reciprocated, and a cam follower engaging said cam connected to reciprocate said arm.

4. A machine as set forth in claim l in which said drive means comprises a rotating shaft carrying a cam, a ratchet is connected to actuate said feed means, a pawl is connected to operate said ratchet and a cam follower actuated by said cam is connected to reciprocate said pawl.

5. A machine as set forth in claim l in which sail support is mounted to slide transversely of the axis of rotation of said holder, means to slide said support transversely for spacing the punched holes radially in different concentric circles and means responsive to a complete rotation of said holder to actuate said slid, means so as to change the radial distance of the succeeding punchings.

6. A machiuc as set forth in claim l in which said support is mounted to slide transversely of the axis of rotation. of said holder, means to slide said support tranr-4 versely for spacing the punched holes radially and means driven with said holder to actuate said slide means so as to change the radial distance of successive punchings whereby said punchings are located in spiral formation.

7. In a machine as set forth in claim l, stop means t 2 hold said punch in raised position, a pattern mounted to rotate with said holder and means following said pattern connected to actuate said stop means so as to interrupt the punching operation in selected positions of said pat tern whereby selected segments of said blank remain unpunched.

8. In a machine as set forth in claim 7 additional means responsive to said pattern connected to accelerate said feed means during non-punching periods.

9. In a machine as set forth in claim l, means to stop the operation of said punch, and photoelectric scanning means focused on the end of said punch and responsive to displacement or breakage thereof to energize said stop means.

10. In a machine as set forth in claim 1, a counter connected to count the number of complete revolutions of said holder and stop means responsive to said counter adapted to stop said machine after a predetermined number of revolutions of said holder.

ll. In a machine as set forth in claim l, means actuated by said drive means connected to decelerate said punch at the instant of striking said blank.

12. A machine, as set forth in claim 7, in which said pattern is segmental in shape for locating the holes to spaced segments of said cap.

13. A machine, as set forth in claim 7, in which said pattern comprises a cam having raised surfaces corresponding to the imperforate areas of said cap and a cam follower is actuated by said cam to hold said punch in elevated positions when in contact with said raised surfaces.

14. In a machine, as set forth in claim l, a counter connected to respond to the punching operations and stop means responsive to said counter to stop said machine after a predetermined number of punching operations.

15. In a machine, as set forth in claim l means to adjust the elevation of said holder for varying the punch penetration.

16. ln a machine, as set forth in claim l, a turret rotatably mounted on said table, a plurality of cap supports independently mounted on said turret and adapted to be selectively advanced into punching position, and means responsive to a predetermined number of punching operations to advance said turret to bring another cap into punching position.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 304,829 Knapp Sept. 9, i884 500,373 Brachhausen et al. .lune 27. i893 683,472 Kluge Oct. l, 1901 1,125,648 Carlson Jan. 19, i915 2,051,031 Kilks Aug. 1S, 1936 2,148,221 Schneider Feb. 2l, 1939 2,339,773 Egan Jan. 25, 1944 2,374,464 Skriba et al Apr. 24, 1945 2452639 Ekstrom Nov. 2. 1948 

